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Internship Program and Volunteer Opportunities

Cultural Survival's internship program is an integral component to the organization. Interns are actively involved in all areas of the organization and play a vital role in the day-to-day operations. Most interns work in our Cambridge, MA office, but some internship positions can be completed remotely (details below). We also offer a Development and Communications internship in our Santa Fe, NM office.

We ask interns to commit to working a minimum of 8 hours per week during their internship. On average, interns work 16 hours per week during the school year or 25 hours per week during the summer. The typical internship lasts for the duration of one school semester or two to three months in the summer.

Interns attend an orientation session at the beginning of their volunteer service to learn about all of Cultural Survival's current programs and our organizational history. Past intern activities have included group lunches hosted by Cultural Survival to engage with staff in discussion on Indigenous Peoples' concerns and current events, visits with guest speakers, film screenings, or a casual game of wiffle ball or bowling.

All of our departments are closely connected, and many interns end up working in more than one department. If you are interested in multiple departments you can list your interests in a single cover letter.

Internship DepartmentsSocial Media: Do you love social media? Help Cultural Survival promote Indigenous issues to our followers around the world on Facebook and Twitter! The Social Media Intern will work with our Communications Manager to design and implement a social media strategy consistent with Cultural Survival’s brand. The intern will monitor online platforms for key news and trending conversations, draft social media posts for advocacy campaigns and news articles, and help grow and engage our audience. Applicants should have strong communication skills, with the ability to quickly synthesize information and communicate complex information to general audiences. (Cambridge office or remote)

Bazaars: Bazaar interns are essential to the planning, promotion, and preparation for Cultural Survival's Indigenous arts festivals. Working closely with the Bazaar Manager, interns will gain professional experience in event coordination, outreach, and communications. Interns may research for and write press releases and other publicity pieces, scout locations for new events, coordinate participating artists and vendors, curate art to be sold at Cultural Survival's booth, research and contact new artists and musicians, represent Cultural Survival at the Bazaars, and more! Interns should have strong writing and communication skills. Experience with art writing, Indigenous crafts, marketing, and/or fluency in other languages besides English are helpful but not required. (Cambridge office)

Community Media: Are you a fluent or proficient Spanish speaker? Practice your language skills while advancing a multi-year project supporting Indigenous community radio stations! The Community Media Program is a partnership between Cultural Survival and 80 community-based radio stations working to protect Maya peoples' access to media. The project aims to improve the effectiveness of community radio as a means for Guatemala's Indigenous groups to receive and convey information locally, nationally, and globally. Interns working with the Community Media Program translate documents and memos; write updates for our publications and website related to the program; and talk with our community radio station partners on a regular basis; among a variety of other tasks. Qualified interns are innovative and are able to think creatively about supporting the project implementation plan. Interns must be fluent or proficient (reading and writing) in Spanish. Please submit a brief writing sample in Spanish with your application. (Cambridge office)

Indigenous Rights Radio: This program promotes Indigenous people’s right to defend their lands from unwanted resource exploitation by producing informative radio programs to be aired on Indigenous radio stations worldwide. As an IRR intern, you will gain an understanding of Indigenous Peoples' unique rights and the value of radio in promoting them. IRR interns may research topics to be made into radio content; develop educational material to provide to radio stations to supplement our radio programs; design and produce newsletters to ensure our radio content reaches more listeners; and communicate with radio volunteers around the world. Interns who speak languages besides English may translate and/or record radio programs in those languages. Interns with radio experience may assist our production team in producing radio content. Interns should have strong written and spoken communication skills and attention to detail. Fluency in an additional language is strongly preferred. Great fit for students in Communications or Broadcast Journalism, other majors welcome. (Cambridge office)

Advocacy: Interns in this department will learn about grassroots social movements who are fighting to defend their environment around the world. Advocacy Interns will help write news articles that keep our campaigns up to date, research and write reports on human rights violations, and use social media to build solidarity and bring about change. Advocacy Interns must have a bachelor's degree or be in their senior year of an undergraduate program. Strong research and writing skills required. Spanish language skills and prior knowledge of human rights mechanisms are a plus but not required. We encourage students and graduates with knowledge in Latin American studies, Political Science, Environmental Studies, and International Relations to apply. (Cambridge office)

Research and Publications: Interns applying in this department must have outstanding writing skills and be comfortable interviewing sources. Research and Publications interns will support existing Cultural Survival programs (Community Media, Indigenous Rights Radio, Advocacy) and the general administration and production of our publications, such as the Quarterly magazine, monthly e-newsletters, and website. Interns must have excellent communication skills. They should be adept Internet and journal researchers who pay particular attention to detail, and are able to read extensive amounts of information and present clear and concise summaries. Interns must be independent, self-motivated, and reliable. Please submit a writing sample (3-5 pages) with your application. (Cambridge office or remote)

Development and Communications: Working closely with the Director of Philanthropic Partnerships, the Development and Communications Intern will gain professional experience in fundraising, event coordination, outreach, and communications at an international human rights organization. The intern will learn the ins and outs of development prospect research and event planning. The intern will also have opportunities to research and write news articles about Indigenous issues for our publications, including the Cultural Survival Quarterly magazine, monthly e-newsletters, and website. (Santa Fe office)

Application Process:
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume as an attachment to internship@cs.org (in one MS word document or PDF file). In your cover letter, describe your goals for the internship and explain how your experiences and skill set will contribute to Cultural Survival's programs. Please be sure to include the minimum dates you are available to intern and the hours per week you are available (when possible). As this is an unpaid internship, we encourage applicants to seek grant support or for-credit options through their university.